Training and licensing of clinical psychologists

The training and licensing of clinical psychologists
Clinical psychology
Clinical psychology is an integration of science, theory and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development...

ranges from 4 year undergraduate degree plus a 4 to 6 year doctorate program. Most programs in the U.S. are PhD

Scientist-Practitioner Model of Clinical Psychology

The scientist–practitioner model, also called the Boulder model, is a training model for graduate programs that focuses on creating a foundation of research and scientific practice. It was developed primarily to train clinical psychologist members of American Psychological Association but has been...

programs that have a strong focus on research and are typically housed in universities. There are fewer programs resulting in a PsyD (doctor of psychology), many of which are in private schools and have a greater focus on treatment. There are more students enrolled in PsyD programs overall so that both degrees are about 50/50 in terms of number of students. In the U.K., those training to be clinical psychologists have to complete a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (D.Clin.Psych.), which is a practitioner doctorate

Doctorate

A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...

with both clinical and research components. This is a three-year full-time salaried program sponsored by the National Health Service

National Health Service

The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...

(NHS) and based in universities and the NHS.

In the U.S., Canada and the U.K the practice of clinical psychology requires a license. Although every state is somewhat different in terms of requirements and licenses, there are three common elements—a degree from an approved educational program, a minimum amount of supervised clinical experience, and passing an examination. Most states also require a certain number of continuing education credits per year in order to renew a license, which can be obtained though various means, such as taking audited classes and attending workshops.

Doctoral level training

There is stiff competition to gain acceptance into clinical psychology doctoral programs (acceptance rates of 2-5% are not uncommon). Clinical psychologists in the U.S. undergo many years of graduate training—usually 5 to 7 years post-Bachelors—in order to gain demonstrable competence and experience. Licensure as a psychologist takes an additional 1 to 2 years post PhD/PsyD (licensure requires 3,000 hours of supervised training), depending on the state (see below under licensure). Today, in America, about half of all clinical psychology graduate students are being trained in PhD

Scientist-Practitioner Model of Clinical Psychology

programs—a model that emphasizes research and is usually housed in universities—with the other half in PsyD programs, which has more focus on practice (similar to professional degrees for medicine and law). Both models envision practising Clinical Psychology in a research-based, scientifically valid manner, and are accredited by the American Psychological Association

American Psychological Association

The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States. It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 154,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. The APA...

and many other English-speaking psychological societies. APA accreditation is very important for U.S. clinical psychology programs and may affect employment prospects and licensure after one graduates (http://www.apa.org/support/education/accreditation/importance.aspx#answer).

Mean debt related to doctoral education in clinical psychology currently exceeds $80,000, according to the 2011 appic match survey, and 44% of graduates accrue over $100,000 in debt (http://www.appic.org/match/5_2_2_match_about_statistics.html). There is currently a significant internship crisis affecting U.S. clinical psychology programs for the past 10 years (see under clinical psychology; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_psychology).

Doctorate (PhD and PsyD) programs usually involve some variation on the following 5 to 7 year, 90-120 unit curriculum:

Bases of behavior—biological, cognitive-affective, and cultural-social
Individual differences—personality, lifespan development, psychopathology
History and systems—development of psychological theories, practices, and scientific knowledge
Clinical practice—diagnostics, psychological assessment, psychotherapeutic interventions, psychopharmacology, ethical and legal issues
Coursework in Statistics and Research Design
Clinical experience
- Practicum—usually three or four years of working with clients under supervision in a clinical setting. Most practicum placements begin in either the first or second year of doctoral training
- Doctoral Internship—usually an intensive one or two year placement in a clinical setting
Dissertation—PhD programs usually require original quantitative empirical research, while PsyD dissertations involve original quantitative or qualitative research, theoretical scholarship, program evaluation or development, critical literature analysis, or clinical application and analysis. The dissertation typically takes 2-3 years to complete.
Specialized electives—many programs offer sets of elective courses for specializations, such as health, child, family, community, or neuropsychology
Personal psychotherapy—many programs require students to undertake a certain number of hours of personal psychotherapy (with a non-faculty therapist) although in recent years this requirement has become less frequent.
Comprehensive Exams and/or Master's Thesis: A thesis can involve original data collection and is distinct from a dissertation

Masters level training in the U.S.

Human Sexuality: 2

Child Abuse: 2

Domestic Violence: 2

Aging: 2

Ethics & Law: 3

Psychological Testing: 3

Psychopharmacology: 3
| valign="top" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" style="border-right:1px solid #E9E9E9;"|
Process and Psychotherapy: 4

Personality Theory: 6

Cross-Cultural: 3

Comparative Theories: 6

Psychology and Society: 2

Systems Theory & Family: 5

Assessing and Planning: 3
Brief Therapy: 2

Group and Couples Treatment: 6

Applied Therapeutic Techniques: 9

Developmental Psych and pathology: 9
| valign="top" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" |
Gay and Lesbian Issues: 2

ADHD: 1

Crisis Intervention: 2

Cognitive/Behavioral: 2

Existential Psychology: 2

Clinical Intervention with Adolescents: 2

Narratives of Women's Lives: 2
|}
Where subject is required by both the state and the school, it is shown under the school's required column. Similar courses have been lumped together, for example "Group Treatment Techniques" and "Couples Counseling" were combined, their units added together and called "Group and Couples Treatment"—just to keep the table of manageable size.

Doctoral level training

Masters level training in the U.S.

Training in the U.K.

Professional practice

Licensure